Child Rescue Alert (CRA) is a powerful alliance between the police, the press and the public which seeks to locate an abducted child and bring them to safety. It has been available to police forces in England and Wales since 2005. Chief Constable Peter Neyroud, chief executive of the NPIA, said: "The decisions taken in the first few hours after a child's disappearance are often the most vital. Through Child Rescue Alert the community is able to form a strong alliance to help in the hunt for child abductors when an alert is activated. "It is fitting that the NPIA should relaunch CRA on International Missing Children's Day, which forms a poignant reminder of the sense of devastation caused to the parents and families of children who go missing." Cooperation by the media and public is crucial to the success of a CRA. It aims to recover a child at risk of serious harm and will be activated by a UK police force when certain criteria have been met. Local media will carry urgent police appeals, sometimes within hours of a reported disappearance. In certain circumstances, alerts will be issued directly to the national media where it is felt that a child may have been moved across a county or national border. The NPIA has also led work with EU partners to ensure the UK's refreshed alert system is compatible with existing systems in other parts of Europe. ACPO lead for missing children DAC Richard Bryan said: "The CRA is a good example of the community, the police and the media working together for the greater good. Early intervention is vital to the successful location of a child who has gone missing and we hope this alliance will go some way towards reuniting missing children with their loved ones." As part of International Missing Children's Day 2010, six children who have been abducted by a parent are highlighted as part of the UK's commemorative event, which will take place on London's South Bank on 25 May. They are: Sami Odeh and Rami Odeh, both from Birmingham UK Telvin Timba from Southend-on-Sea, Essex, UK Shawn Timba from Maidenhead, Berkshire, UK (half-brother of Telvin) Sigourney Teresa Chisholm from Toronto, Canada The issue of parental abduction is complicated and can have harmful physical and emotional effects on the child. Every year in the UK more than 1,000 are abducted by a parent or family member. For more information about Child Rescue Alert and the descriptions and photographs of the children highlighted as part of International Missing Children's Day go to http://www.childrescuealert.com. A national event to commemorate International Missing Children's Day and to relaunch Child Rescue Alert will take place at 11:20am (media to arrive from 10:30am) at The Deck, National Theatre, South Bank, London, on 25 May 2010. Pictures of the children are available from the NPIA press office. Please call 0207 147 8424. A downloadable clip (suitable for broadcast) from Chief Constable Peter Neyroud about International Missing Children's Day and the re-launch of Child Rescue Alert is available at: http://resources.npia.police.uk/media/audio/PN_IMCD.mp3 Child Rescue Alert is a system that fast-tracks police appeals about a child abduction to broadcasters in the UK. The idea is to quickly engage the public through the media, to increase the number of eyes and ears on the streets. A typical appeal will include the description of the child, a description of the suspected abductor and any vehicle they are driving, together with location details. Alerts will always carry the action line number 0300 2000 333, which people should call if they have information about the disappearance or sightings. Sussex Police was the first UK force to adopt the scheme in 2002. Surrey and Hampshire quickly followed. It was then introduced throughout England and Wales in 2005. The British Transport Police also back the system and assist other forces where necessary. About International Missing Childrens' Day 2010 On 25th May 1979, a six-year-old boy, Etan Patz went missing in New York. He was never seen again, as a result of this NCMEC (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children) was established in the United States. In 1983 the President of the United States declared 25th May 'Missing Children's Day' and this has been followed ever since. The NPIA Missing Persons Bureau as the UK member of the Global Missing Children's Network (GMCN) are participating in the International Missing Children's Day in co-ordination with the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC Washington - USA) and other partners of the GMCN, Missing Children Europe and its associated Non Governmental Organisations are also involved. Eight countries across four continents participate in IMCD every year - Australia, Canada, Brazil, Greece, Ireland, Romania, The Netherlands and the UK. These countries form GMCN. IMCD 2010 will especially focus across all countries on the issue of parental abductions. About the NPIA's Missing Persons Bureau The Missing Person's Bureau became part of the National Policing Improvement Agency in April 2008. It provides a free cross-matching service to police officers to assist with matching up details of missing persons cases with unidentified persons or body cases in the UK. It also:
From today, CRA will be extended in Scotland and will be fully supported by the National Policing Improvement Agency's Missing Person's Bureau, which provides operational and tactical support to police forces across the UK.
Andrew Thompson from Sydney, Australia
Born: 19-Aug-2004
Missing since: 25-Apr-2008
Taken by: Mother Melinda Thompson
Thought to be: in UK though may be in Germany or Spain.
Born: 03-Dec-2001 28-Oct-2005
Both missing since: 05-Dec-2008
Taken by: Father Dr Bassam Odeh
Thought to be: in Syria
Born: 18-Feb-2005
Missing since: 01-Jul-2007
Taken by: Father Richard Timba
Thought to be: in Zimbabwe, South Africa.
Born: 03-May-2000
Missing since: 01-Jul-2007
Taken by: Father Richard Timba
Thought to be: in Zimbabwe, South Africa.
Born: 20-Sep-1991
Missing since: 15-May-1993
Taken by: Mother Patricia O'Byrne
Thought to be: in the UK
Notes to Editors
Media wishing to attend should register their interest in advance on 0207 147 8424.
Attending the event and available for interview will be Ken Thompson (father of Andrew), Dr Yusra Abo Hamed (mother of Sami and Rami) and Sarah Taylor (mother of Nadia Fawzi), who was united with her daughter in Libya in February 2010.
Also in attendance will be Blessing Mlandeli (mother of Telvin Timba) and Kate McCann (mother of Madeleine McCann) who has long been a proponent of a Europe-wide Child Rescue Alert scheme.
http://resources.npia.police.uk/media/audio/PN_IMCD.wav
Statistics
Estimates suggest that 100,000 children go missing from the UK each year; most are quickly found and reunited with their families. Around 1,000 are suspected to have been abducted by a parent or other family member.
About the children
1. Sigourney Teresa Chisolm: (DOB 20-Sep-1991); missing since 15-May-1993; Missing from Toronto, Canada. Taken by her mother Patricia O'Byrne. It is thought that she may have taken Sigourney to the UK. Patricia may wear glasses or contact lenses, has a faint scar on her upper lip and sometimes dyes her hair red. She may be known as Trish.
2. Andrew Thompson: (DOB 19-Aug-2004); missing since 25-Apr-2008. Missing from Sydney, Australia. Andrew has not been seen since 24th April 2008 when he was taken from Sydney, Australia by his mother Melinda Thompson. They flew to Frankfurt, Germany although it is possible that they may now be in the UK. Andrew is described as approximately 3'3 tall with fair hair and brown eyes. He has gaps between his teeth.
3. Telvin Timba (DOB: 18-Feb-2005); missing since 01-Jul-2007. Missing from Southend-on-Sea, Essex. Telvin went missing from his home address after visiting his father, Richard Timba, and it is believed that he has been taken to Zimbabwe. He is described as medium build with black afro style cropped hair and brown eyes.
4. Shawn Timba (DOB: 03-May-2000); missing since 01-Jul-2007. Missing from Maidenhead, Berkshire. Shawn was last seen by his mother at 15:30 at a cinema in Slough. It is believed his father 'Richard Timba' has taken him to Zimbabwe.
5. Sami Odeh (DOB: 03-Dec-2001) and Rami Odeh (DOB: 28-Oct-2005); missing since 05-Dec-08. Both missing from Birmingham. Rami and Sami were in the care of their mother and their Father had access to them but there was strict collection and return regulations. The father collected the two boys on the 05/12/2008 but failed to return them. It is thought he may have taken them to Syria. Both boys are described as having brown eyes and dark hair. Rami was 3 and Sami was 7 when they went missing.
Child Rescue Alert
Not all cases will result in a CRA being activated. The decision to launch a CRA is an operational one made by the local force. The criteria for launching a CRA are:
CRA has been available as an operational tool to all UK police forces since 2005. However, there was no national coordination of the scheme. In recognition of the serious of the issue, the NPIA's Missing Person's Bureau in 2009 was asked to review its operation and provide more coordinated support to forces. CRA is therefore being officially relaunched on 25 May 2010.
Child Rescue Alert is based on the AMBER alert system which has been in use in the United States since 1997. AMBER stands for "America's Missing Broadcasting Emergency Response" and was named after nine year old Amber Hagerman who was abducted, raped and murdered in January 1996, although the national programme is dedicated to all children nationwide who've been abducted. After Amber was found dead four days after she went missing it was discovered that local law enforcement had information that might have helped to locate her shortly after she was abducted, but had no means to distribute this information.
The Missing Person's Bureau manages the UK element of the Missing Kids website. The Missing Kids Website is a unique, state-of-the art tool designed to help the police recover missing and abducted children across the world. The UK website forms a chapter of ICMEC's global network of 17 counties.
